Angus Macfadyen, reprising his role as Robert the Bruce, is a lot older than when he portrayed the future Scottish king in Braveheart, though it fits this Robert; a man wiser, ground down, painfully aware of where his actions have led the country: “I truly believed that God had chosen me to be King. And then we… Robert The Bruce Read More
The Perfection 3.5 stars
Considering its title, the symmetry in new Netflix thriller horror The Perfection – only fully revealed at the very end – is to be expected. The trailer (below, which I’m going to assume you’ve seen) positions this as a straight-up horror, and Charlotte (Allison Williams) as a demented stalker, wielding a kitchen machete and with… The Perfection Read More
Long Shot 4 stars
This is a grown-up comedy, what with it being about politics, ethical journalism, the environment, personal integrity, Boyz II Men, boners, masturbation, and drugs. Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is Secretary of State, working under President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk) whose route to power was a decade spent playing the president on TV. Which is very funny… Long Shot Read More
BlacKkKlansman (Cannes 2018) 4 stars
There’s a big sign strung across the entrance to the Colorado Springs Police Department, encouraging new recruits from diverse backgrounds to apply. Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is soon their first black police officer, fulfilling his lifelong dream. And once there, he also joins another outfit as their first black recruit; the local branch of… BlacKkKlansman (Cannes 2018) Read More
Fahrenheit 451 (Cannes 2018) 2.5 stars
I love the initial minutes of dystopian storytelling; how a society got to this point, the new realities of everyday life, and the capacity of the human spirit to absorb horrific change without challenging it. How much do they agree? How much are they hoping someone else will save them? Or maybe they just don’t… Fahrenheit 451 (Cannes 2018) Read More
No Shade 3.5 stars
*** No Shade is showing as part of the Pan-African Film+ Arts Festival in LA this February – find out more here *** “If I’m natural I’m bush, and if I put on a wig I’m fake”, cries the beautiful and elegant Jade in frustration, as a succession of terrible dates and a broken love… No Shade Read More
A Quiet Place 4.5 stars
With A Quiet Place, director and co-writer John Krasinski proves himself to be a master of relentless (and I mean relentless) tension, which doesn’t stop until the final frame. This film is only 90 minutes’ long but it’s a 90 minute crescendo of suspense, peppered with shocks and heartbreak. This is a battle for survival,… A Quiet Place Read More
Peter Rabbit 3 stars
It turns out I’ve been pronouncing radicchio wrong my whole life! Since the 90s anyway, when I realised there was a plant called radicchio. (In my defence, I didn’t eat an avocado til 1987.) This live action/CGI Peter Rabbit is only loosely based on the original – as my 8 year old said authoritatively, “it’s a sequel… Peter Rabbit Read More
Annihilation 4.5 stars
If there had been a pub in the deserted Area X zone where the all-women group of scientists is sent on a reconnaissance mission, I could have begun this review with “a biologist, a paramedic, a physicist, a psychologist and a geologist turn into a bar…” Annihilation gets under your skin, and leaves lots of unanswered… Annihilation Read More
Game Night 4 stars
This is a film about sperm and an egg, and what you can create out of them. In this case a fast paced, laugh-out-loud comedy with a nasty streak that pushes the envelope til the last frame. The sperm are Max’s (Jason Bateman). Their motility isn’t great, because of stress, and when the doctor asks… Game Night Read More
I, Tonya 4.5 stars
“Why CAN’T it just be about the skating?” replies Tonya Harding to a judge when they respond to her accusations of deliberately low marking with “Tonya, it’s never been entirely about the skating… you just refuse to play along”. It’s hardly her fault that she was born poor though, with an abusive parent who creates in… I, Tonya Read More
Lady Bird 3 stars
Maybe it’s my age – perhaps there’s a point at which one stops identifying with the irritating daughter and starts nodding along sagely with the irritating mum – but Lady Bird isn’t a film that grabbed me. Naturally, being a woman, after all the acclaim it’s received I finished watching it thinking “is it me?… Lady Bird Read More
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